2018 Guardian Scholars Program Annual Program Plan - Skyline College
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2018 Guardian Scholars Program Annual Program Plan
GSPX Guardian Scholars Program
I.A. Program Profile: Purpose
Describe the program(s) to be reviewed. What is the purpose of the program and
how does it contribute to the mission of Skyline College?
Narrative
The Guardian Scholars Program’s purpose is to create a network of support that
will meet the academic, social, emotional, and financial needs of college-bound
students who are transitioning out of the foster care system. Due to the lack of
familial support, historically foster youth have significantly lower degree
attainment. Skyline College has identified foster youth as a population in need of
extra support in the Skyline College Student Equity Plan. The creation of the
Guardian Scholars Program was a direct response to the need of individual,
trauma-informed case management model to support foster youth at Skyline
College to Get in...Get through and Get Out...On Time.
1I.B. Program Planning Team
Annual program planning is intended to be a collaborative process which
promotes dialogue and reflection. Please identify all individuals who contributed
to or shaped the narrative. Include names and the title or role of each person.
Narrative
• Tia Holiday, Program Services Coordinator, Guardian Scholars Program
• Linda Allen, Retention Specialist, Guardian Scholars Program
2II.A. Analysis: Progress on Prior Program Objectives (Goals) and Activities
Describe the progress made on previously established program objectives
(goals) including identification of achievements or areas in which further effort is
needed. New programs which have not yet established CPR/APP objectives
should discuss progress on program implementation or activities.
Narrative
The Guardian Scholars Program (GSP) was developed to provide a network of
support for current and former foster youth transitioning out of foster care. The
program is designed to address the academic, financial, social and emotional
development of aging out foster youth while they work towards graduation and
transfer at Skyline College. The GSP program has dedicated staff members,
Program Services Coordinator (PSC) and a Retention Specialist (RS).
Recruitment & Intake
• Through close, collaborative relationships developed with San Mateo &
San Francisco county health and human services, Independent Living
Program, transitional housing, probation and various foster youth serving
agencies, the majority of our new student populations are recruited
through direct referrals. Internally, Sparkpoint, Financial Aid, EOPs, TRiO,
DRC and faculty referrals are referred to our department through a warm
handoff or 1-1 introductions via email. Additionally a comprehensive list of
self-disclosed foster youth are obtained from the Skyline College PRIE
and Financial Aid department. For new students not referred via warm
handoff; each student is contacted via e-mail and phone to discuss the
Guardian Scholars Program benefits and interest in joining the program.
Upon completion of the Guardian Scholars Program application, each new
student is required to meet with the Retention Specialist and Program
Services Coordinator to determine an allocation of resources and referrals
to various campus and off-campus departments and agencies.
Academic Development
• Each student enrolled in the Guardian Scholars Program is required to
complete a mid-semester progress report. Student achieve a C- or below
in any course must meet with the Retention Specialist to determine an
intervention plan that best suits the students and their learning style. This
meeting generally yields a referral to the Disability Resource Center to
enroll in the program, or alter accommodations. Additionally, students are
walked to the Learning Center to meet with Raymon Gutierrez, TLC
Retention Specialist, to begin tutoring in the respective subject they are
struggling in. Students with a C or above, they are also met with the
Retention Specialist to ensure they have the resources necessary to
continue passing their courses.
• Each student enrolled in the GSP program are required to meet with the
Retention Specialist twice a semester. Ideally, within 3 weeks of the
3semester beginning and directly after the return of Mid semester progress
reports.
• Fall 2017 the GSP program hired a student assistant to tutor students in
math up to Math 200.
Financial Development:
• Financial Aid: Upon receiving a student’s GSP application the GSP staff
and a representative from Financial aid ensure their FAFSA is completed
and all financial aid resources have been exhausted. If FAFSA is
incomplete or gaps are determined in their financial aid packages, the
student is referred to a 1-1 meeting (via email or phone call) with a
financial aid representative. Students are followed up with within one week
of the meeting to ensure all financial aid gaps have been addressed.
• Scholarship & Textbook assistance: Since Fall 2016 the GSP program
partnered with two organizations, Educate Tomorrow and Silicon Valley
Children’s Fund to secure extra funding sources for foster youth enrolled
in the Guardian Scholars Program. Additionally, since Fall 2015, the
Guardian Scholars Program partnered with The John Burton Advocates
for Youth to be recipients of the John Burton Book Fund.
o Educate Tomorrow: Recipients of the Educate Tomorrow funding
receive funding up to $2,400 in emergency funds to be disbursed to
the student directly upon receiving a quote of services to the
Educate Tomorrow representative. This program also awards
course completion and good grade and stipends at the end of each
semester. Finally, this fund awards a stipend upon degree
completion and follows each student when they transfer to a 4-year
institution.
o Silicon Valley Children’s Fund - YES Scholars: Recipients of the
YES scholarship are awarded up to $5,000 (determined by part-
time/full-time enrollment). Additionally, each student is provided
funds to receive 1-1 tutoring in a struggling subject. Upon
transfering to a 4-year institution, the YES scholarship follows them
through their BA program.
o John Burton Book Fund - Recipients of the John Burton Book Fund
receive funding up to $250.00 per academic year, to purchase
textbooks from the Skyline College bookstore. The John Burton
Advocates for Youth have allotted 30 students to utilize these
funds. Students who are not EOPs or Promise Scholars eligible are
first to receive these funds.
• Sparkpoint: GSP students are required to attend at least one SparkPoint
financial coaching appointment per semester. This ensures each student
has an opportunity to check their credit health, screen for public benefits
and learn financial literacy before they graduate or transfer.
4Social Development:
• The Guardian Scholars Program coordinator send weekly electronic
newsletters promoting various events across campus to encourage
students to interact with the campus community at large. Additionally,
since its establishment in Fall 2015 The Guardian Scholars Program has
hosted various workshops to cultivate independent living skills, not
typically developed during a foster youth’s time in foster care: cooking on
a budget, developing a budget, scholarship writing, self-defense, stress
management, hair and personal hygiene, healthy relationships, ACLU
know your rights series, exercising on a budget and more.
• The Guardian Scholars Program office is located in a centralized location
in the Student Services building to ensure all GSP students have direct
access to services such as counseling, psychological services and
financial aid. The GSP program office has also created a sense of
belonging at the Skyline College campuses at large, because of the
student’s ability to interact with each other and create friendships in a safe
space.
Emotional Development:
• Historically, foster youth have a history of mental health issues such as
depression, anxiety, PTSD and a range of other coexisting conditions that
can significantly impact a foster youth success in their courses. Therefore,
since Fall 2017 the Guardian Scholars Program has a designated
psychological services counselor located in the health center to serve
foster youth students in crisis. Additionally, students who disclose they
would like additional assistance are referred to the Disability Resources
Center to determine services that will assist them in their courses.
5II.B. Analysis: Program Environment
Describe any recent external or internal changes impacting the program or which
are expected to impact the program in the next year. Please include when the
specified changes occurred or are expected to occur.
Narrative
• Internal Changes
o Beginning Fall 2017 Due to lack of funding the Guardian Scholars
Program has to significantly decrease or discontinue programmatic
services and resources provided to GSP students. Prior to Fall 2017,
each GSP student was allotted 3 meal vouchers, textbook assistance
up to $300.00 and were provided grab and go snacks in the office
lounge. Currently, in Spring 2018, GSP students are alloted 1 meal
voucher per week, the textbook assistance has been discontinued and
grab and go snacks are now sparse as they are provided by
community donation.
• External Changes
o Due to the extreme cost of living in the surrounding area, foster youth
students are becoming homeless due to evictions, or no stable
housing. Due to these extreme financial disadvantages many foster
youth students drop out, despite having a maximized financial aid
package, GSP and other campus resources. to discontinue their time
at Skyline College because they cannot afford to live in the area.
Additionally, San Mateo County has seen a significant decrease in
AB12 youth (extended foster care) in the county, due to their
placements out of county that are more affordable, such as Fresno,
Sonoma County or out of state.
6II.C. Analysis: Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs and PSLOs)
(1) Instructional Programs Only: Describe what was learned from the assessment
of course SLOs for the current and past year.
(2) Student Service Programs Only: If PSLOs are being assessed this year (3-
year cycle), describe what was learned. If no assessment was done because this
is an off-cycle year, please state that this item is not applicable.
Narrative
7III.A. Reflection: Considering Key Findings
Consider the previous analysis of progress achieved, program environment, and
course-level SLOs or PSLOs (if applicable). What are the key findings and/or
conclusions drawn? Discuss how what was learned can be used to improve the
program's effectiveness.
Narrative
The Guardian Scholar Program PSLOs were developed as a direct response to
the low achievement and financial aid completion rates amongst former foster
youth up to Fall 2015. According to the 2015 Student Equity plan, foster youth
are the lowest achieving student group in course completion, degree attainment
and retention. Each Program Service Learning Outcome were created upon
analyzing data collected from PRIE, Banner and students participating in the
Guardian Scholars Program.
PSLO 1: To address student retention, the Guardian Scholars Program (GSP
here after) determined 80% Students enrolled in the Guardian Scholars Program
will enroll in the subsequent semester would not only significantly improve the
Skyline College foster youth success rate, but also begin to put foster youth
students enrolled in GSP back on track to graduate. During the 2016/2017
academic year, 72% of students persisted to the subsequent semester. During
the 2017/2018 academic year, 74% of students persisted to the subsequent
semester.
While the GSP program fell short on the 80% mark the steady increase over the
next academic year, is a positive indicator. Upon completing research on barriers
affecting former foster youth from enrolling in the next academic term included
lack of stable transportation and food insecurity. The implementation of food
vouchers and transportation assistance to students in need can be a contributing
factor into steady increase. Additionally, each student is required to complete a
mid-semester progress report to track their progress in their courses. This has
allowed for early interventions including tutoring, faculty assistance and resource
referral (i.e. Disability Resource Center), to counteract students struggling in
courses.
PSLO 2: To address low degree attainment as outlined in the 2015 Student
Equity Plan, the Guardian Scholars Program developed the following Program
Service Learning Outcome -- Upon entering the program, Guardian Scholar
Program Students will complete the requirements to graduate with a certificate,
an associate degree and/or transfer, within four years.
Analysis of this PSLOs cannot be completed until 2019.
8PSLO 3: Maximizing financial aid packages for foster youth are crucial, as they
can impact a student’s enrollment in the following semester. The Guardian
Scholars Program has set a goal of 100% of Students enrolled in the Guardian
Scholars Program will complete the FAFSA for the upcoming academic year by
the end of Spring of the previous academic year.
• 2017/2018 FAFSA Completion: At the completion of the 2016/2017
academic year, 76% of students in the GSP program completed their
FAFSA. Upon investigation of students who have failed to complete their
FAFSA are students who have not responded to outreach efforts via
email, text or phone call by GSP staff. Two GSP students were unable to
submit a FAFSA due to delinquent loans and therefore, made them
ineligible aid.
• 2018/2019 FAFSA Completion: As of April 2018 70% of students in the
GSP program have completed their FAFSA. Upon investigation of
students who have failed to complete their FAFSA are students who have
not responded to outreach efforts via email, text or phone call by GSP
staff.
9III.B. Reflection: ISLOs
If your program participated in assessment of ISLOs this year:
(1) What are the findings and/or conclusions drawn?
(2) Does the program intend to make any changes or investigate further based
on the findings? If so, briefly describe what the program intends to do.
Narrative
Not applicable
10IV.A. Strategy for Program Enhancement: Continuation/Modification
Indicate whether the program is continuing implementation of the last CPR
strategy or revising the strategy. Please describe the modifications if revisions
are intended.
Note: Any new strategies should be linked to Institutional Goals through creation
of objectives in the next section. If the program has not yet participated in
comprehensive program review, an annual or multi-year strategy can be defined
in this item.
Narrative
• Due to the dependency of financial aid for foster youth students, it is crucial
that the GSP program sustains a financial aid liaison to provide 1-1 financial
aid support to apply for FAFSA, CHAFFEE grant, scholarships and assist in
the Financial Aid appeal process. Furthermore, financial aid federal policies
and Skyline College financial aid procedures change frequently. It is likely that
GSP students will not receive aid if changes are not related to the GSP staff
in a timely manner. Foster youth are required to provide verification of Foster
youth status, however due to the complexities of the individual student’s
circumstances this verification requirement can be difficult to fulfill. The
Financial aid liaison should remain knowledgeable and sensitive to these
complexities to determine the best form of verification without causing
unnecessary delay or re-traumatizing the student disclosing their personal
circumstances. It should be standard practice to include the GSP staff on
obtaining verification if it becomes a burden upon the student to obtain
documentation.
• Historically GSP has not focused on targeted career readiness. With the
introduction of Meta Majors and Guided Pathways student will students
automatically receive career development. Guardian Scholars Program would
like to build on the experiences in Guided Pathways and Meta Majors by
providing additional career readiness support in collaboration with Nova Job
Center, SparkPoint Career Center and WorkForce Development.
• Historically, GSP has been a tight-knit community with high participation, over
the last academic year, large participation of scheduled events has
significantly dropped. While the exact reason has not been determined,
students have expressed interest in doing more community service oriented
events. During the 2018/2019 academic year, the GSP program will identify a
series of community service events for students to participate in.
• Currently the Retention Specialist provides an introduction email of GSP
students in their courses with a variety of reasons they can contact her,
should they need support with a GSP student in their course. An electronic
mid-semester progress report is sent to each professor to complete on behalf
of each student. This process has yielded a total of 142 responses in two
semesters. These responses do not include email received directly to the
11Retention Specialist or paper Mid Semester Progress Reports provided to the
students from TRiO and EOPS. Overall, this process is extremely effective
because it assists GSP staff understand where students are in each class
and addresses barriers early in the semester that can affect the student
academically and financially. Furthermore, it has created an effective
feedback loop between GSP staff and faculty on strategies to assist foster
youth in their classrooms. This process provides transparency between GSP
students, GSP staff, faculty.
• While there are many programs at Skyline College that provide laptops (DRC,
EOPs, TRiO), due to the limited quantity each program has, many times
foster youth students who enroll after the semester begins are unable to
secure laptop loaners. Therefore, GSP would like to exploring funding
opportunities to obtain 10-15 Chromebook to loan to students should campus
resources are unable to support their request.
• GSP students have enrolled into the program without proper identification.
While at Skyline College they can use their school ID, many times foster
youth students are required to provide documentation such as residency,
foster youth verification, social security numbers, etc. to complete the
enrollment process. Delays in the enrollment and financial aid awarding
process has been delayed due to not having proper identification to obtaining
the above documents. Therefore, the GSP program would like to explore
options for foster youth students who are not eligible for extended foster care
to receive identification at a discounted cost or explore emergency funding
options to provide funding to obtain California identification.
12IV.B. Strategy for Program Enhancement: Action Plan and Resource Requests
Based on the most recent CPR and any desired modifications, develop an
annual action plan with related resource requests. No narrative response will be
entered in this section, but the objectives you create will be printed automatically
in the APP report under this item.
(1) To begin, click on PLANNING at the top of the page, then CREATE A NEW
OBJECTIVE. To view previously created objectives, click PLANNING at the top
of the page, then VIEW MY OBJECTIVE.
(2) IMPORTANT! Make sure to associate each objective to this standard in the
APP. Need help? Contact the PRIE Office for further instructions. Institutional
Goals.
Narrative
Associated Objectives
560-Career Readiness
626-Provide uninterrupted programmatic resources
559-GSP attain proper identifcation
Budget and Objectives of Guardian Scholars Program
13Objectives of Guardian Scholars Program
Planning Year: 2018-2019
Planning Year: 2018-2019
Unit Code Planning Unit Unit Manager
2335GSPX00 Guardian Scholars Program Holiday, Tia
Objective Status: New/In Progress
559 GSP attain proper identification
GSP program will explore options for foster youth students who are not eligible for extended
foster care to receive identification at a discounted cost or apply for grants to provide
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560 Career Readiness
Guardian Scholars Program would like to build on the experiences in Guided Pathways and
Meta Majors by providing additional career readiness support in collaboration with Nova Job
Center, SparkPoint Career Center and WorkForce Development.
626 Provide uninterrupted programmatic resources
Allocate uninterrupted programmatic services to students participating in the Guardian
Scholars Program in the 2018/2019 academic year. Resources include: transportation
assistance (parking permit or clipper card), textbook vouchers, meal vouchers (3 per week)
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